July 21, 2012

I figured it's time to post the facts again. Here they are in black and white.

July 21, 2011
Credit Card Ab: $2402.28
Credit Card Me: $5969.12
Credit Card Di: $3107.80
Credit Card Am: $2390.41
Credit Card NF: $3705.44
Subtotal: $17575.10

Other debts
Auto Loan: $6523.89
Undergrad Loan #1: $358.75
Undergrad Loan #2: $8421.02
Subtotal: $15303.66

Total debts: $32878.71

The good news is that I have, overall, $3268.99 less debt than I did 2.5 years ago. BUT the bad news is that all the gains were in static debt - my car and student loans. I actually have $7235.41 more in credit card debt than I did.

To compare, a recap of progress made (or not made) from 2009-2011:

October 23, 2009
Credit Card #Ab: $3128.99
Credit Card #Me: $4586.88
Credit Card #Di: $1309.07
Credit Card #Am: $1314.75
Credit Card Subtotal: $10339.69

Other debts
Auto Loan: $14849.39
Undergrad Loan #1: $1543.80
Undergrad Loan #2: $9414.82
Other Debts Subtotal: $25808.01

Total debts: $36147.70

May 11, 2010
Credit Card Ab - 2204.67
Credit Card Me - 4225.94
Credit Card Di - 240.54
Credit Card Am - 1964.07
Credit Card Subtotal: $8635.22

February 18, 2011
Credit Card Ab - $2248.05
Credit Card Me - $3879.16
Credit Card Di - $1396.20
Credit Card Am - $2903.48
Credit Card NF - $0.00
Credit Card Subtotal: $10426.90

February 18, 2011

OK, so I had *planned* to cut the credit cards up, but didn't actually get around to it. I've been spending a bit on Credit Card Am, as you can see by the fact that it's gone up. This is primarily on food - we have been out of town/busy the last few weekends and haven't had a chance to go grocery shopping, so I've been eating out. Plus, we ate out a couple of times with friends.

I paid off Credit Card Di, but then put a couple of travel expenses on it - flights to Seattle for a trip that C and I are taking with my mom, place to stay in Seattle, and flights to Madison in July for C and I. The flights to Madison were an expense that I've known about for a while. The trip to Seattle was less expected. Still, I'm OK with these expenses.

Given that we're going to need to put things on credit for the wedding - I'm considering accelerating the payoff for Credit Card Ab, which has the lowest APR (7.9%). However, it also has the lowest credit limit ($2500). Credit Card Me, on the other hand, has a pretty low APR (11.49%) and a much higher credit limit ($6500). Any thoughts on what would be the best strategy?

Credit Card Ab - $2248.05
Credit Card Me - $3879.16
Credit Card Di - $1396.20
Credit Card Am - $2903.48
Credit Card NF - $0.00

Total Debt: $10426.90

February 7, 2011

Credit Card Ab - $2266.84
Credit Card Me - $3842.00
Credit Card Di - $0.00
Credit Card Am - $2713.39
Credit Card NF - $0.00

Total Debt: $8,822.23

February 1, 2011

Credit Card Ab - $2266.84
Credit Card Me - $3935.00
Credit Card Di - $1462.69
Credit Card Am - $2540.62
Credit Card NF - $0.00

Total Debt: $10,205.15

January 17, 2011

The credit cards have been cut up. I do have some recurring expenses on each, listed below. Right now, I'm focusing on paying off the Di card, so all extra money I have I'm throwing at that card. For the others, I pay the minimum plus whatever the recurring expenses are each month, so that I don't get further behind.

Credit Card Ab - $2376.84
Credit Card Me - $3935.00
Credit Card Di - $1452.15
Credit Card Am - $2492.62
Credit Card NF - $0.00

Total Debt: $10,256.60

Recurring Expenses
Credit Card Ab - SunPass ($120/month) and Netflix ($10.59/month)
Credit Card Me - credit monitoring service ($12.99/month)
Credit Card Di - Lagusta's Luscious chocolate of the month club ($33/month)
Credit Card Am - none
Credit Card NF - none

By my calculations, the Di card should be paid off by February 11. Then I'll start working on the Am card, which should be paid off by April 8. Then Me, which should be paid off mid-July, then Ab, which should be paid off by end of August.

Now, the question is - can I sustain this level of card-paying-offery, while still putting money away for the wedding and paying for our trips to Madison and Disney?

Epic fail on the credit card front

So...between an unexpected trip to Alabama, an unexpected hotel expense in New York (couchsurfing fell through rather miserably, although at least we found out in advance!), new brakes, Christmas presents, and falling completely off the healthy food wagon (thus spending a LOT of money on fast food and restaurants) - my credit card debt is at an all-time high at the close of 2010. Behold.

Credit Card Ab - $2459.75
Credit Card Me - $3977.37
Credit Card Di - $2918.73
Credit Card Am - $2564.62
Credit Card NF - $0.00 (paid this one off last year, haven't used it because I cut it up)
Total: $11,920.47

The fact that I ended up with $3700 additional credit card debt this year instead of paying it off, as I had planned, really annoys me. But it proves what I had suspected - I need to cut the cards up and not have them available. I just don't have the willpower, currently, to have them and not use them. Also, I think I need to cancel my subscriptions to - or at the very least, auto-archive - Groupon, LivingSocial, and Dealist. Way too much temptation.

So - New Year's resolution #1:
cut up all of the credit cards

Debt Update

Credit Card Ab - 2279.77
Credit Card Me - 4268.01
Credit Card Di - 0.00
Credit Card Am - 1654.07
Total: $8201.85